Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD [AFI Fest 2021 - Virtual]
The essence of choice and paths not taken are essential to the path of the lead character Julie in "The Worst Person In The World" [World Cinema]. In a story that could easily skew melodramatic or even petty, actress Renate Reinsve and director Joachim Trier elevate the movie into a form of nostalgia and loss with a little bit of magical realism. Julie is headstrong and determined but also inherently flawed. We see joy but also very specific readings of trepidation and loss and those fleeting moments that can't be traced. The mood is a perfect blend simply buoyed by Reinsve's luminescence. She has an air of mischievousness without being overwhelming, a raw fire without losing her tenderness. The great thing (which oddly reminds this reviewer of "Cherry", the Tom Holland/Russo Brothers Apple Film from last year) is that the decisions are not right or wrong in terms of the character, they simply are. The situations are timeless but the moments they show of memory such as the sequence where Julie spends a nigh tout with a boy she met at a party where they do everything trying not to cheat on their respective others is inspired. It is like a game but wonderfully staged.
The two men per se is Julie's life offer her different perspectives which she reflects back but, as the film is told in chapters, the timing of what is important for them and her at times does not match up and that is the great lifting of the film because it shows that life is not cookie cutter. Most stories do not have a happy ending...they have an acceptable life standard but showing that and the irony of certain paths is what Trier captures so well here. He has done well in his previous films but they never quite moved over a certain needle (we interviewed him and Gabriel Byrne for his film "Louder Than Bombs" at Cannes a few years ago) but Reinsve just elevate the material. She won the Best Actress at Cannes this past May for good reason because her performance is both universal and unassuming, powerful and yet not needing to be extreme on the spectrum to evoke a feeling. A center sequence in the film which is unexpected is beautiful as it decompresses out the air giving ita whimsy and a lyricism with an almost genre feel that simply balances the film out. Trier's choice also of certain songs and score also allows for a different moods, both light and affecting that ultimate resonates the film is a deeper way as it dances with the notes of Julie's life. A-
By Tim Wassberg
